Bottlenose dolphins: The dark secrets of beautiful dolphins (10 photos)

Dolphins aren't just smart; their level of intelligence is close to genuine intelligence. And this great intelligence plays a cruel trick on these marine mammals. On the one hand, they name each other, empathize with their fellow creatures, use primitive tools, and readily play with toys. On the other, they engage in vandalism, abuse animals for fun, and sincerely hate each other. And the list goes on.





A sweet married couple who definitely have no secrets.



How deep is a dolphin's burrow?

Let's start with petty mischief. We have bottlenose dolphins, for example, who love to play ball. They don't have a ball, so they use whatever's nearby. For example, they might kick a small nurse shark that's just resting nearby. Tired of playing ball? Then it's time to pester a passing sea turtle: prevent it from surfacing, flip it over, and damage its shell with strong blows from its nose. After all, dolphins weigh up to 300 kilograms, so even the lightest touch can be dangerous.





In the department for working with troubled teenagers.

Bottlenose dolphins also often harm porpoises—incidentally, they are related to dolphins and look very similar. Young males practice hitting the porpoises, like punching bags. It's still unknown whether this is due to competition for food or territory, or whether they simply enjoy hitting defenseless creatures. Unfortunately, these "punching bags" don't always survive.



Oh, it's okay, they're just playing!



Next time, give me your lunch money, okay?

As if that weren't enough, bullies can even harass people. One such male in southern Japan terrorized a beach for four (!) years, and the attacks were only stopped by closing the beach for the entire season. And in 2022, history repeated itself. On the same beach, a dolphin crashed into a man, breaking several bones. It seemed like a tragic accident. But the dolphin did it four times in an hour.



Want me to let go? Transfer the apartment to me!

But this doesn't mean bottlenose dolphins take out all their aggression on other species. Dramas more potent than those in Indian soap operas can unfold within their communities. A pod of young, cheerful males can, for example, "steal" a young female and hold her by force. Meanwhile, other males stalk pregnant females, waiting for them to give birth. Alas, not to act as midwives. A baby dolphin often doesn't survive aggression directed at it by a hostile male. Yes, from a human perspective, this is terribly unethical and cruel, but from a dolphin's perspective, it's quite logical. A mother who has lost her calf will be more likely to mate and have offspring with the aggressor male.



Hey, gorgeous! Are you relaxing here alone?

And to top it all off: dolphins are suspected of using psychedelic substances. In 2013, news broke that bottlenose dolphins get high on puffer fish. In the video, a pod of dolphins played with it like a ball, chewing on it relentlessly. The frightened fish released tetrodotoxin—a substance capable of poisoning an adult human—and after that, the dolphins began to behave "strangely": they froze in a trance, staring at the surface of the water above them.



A 9th-grade student bullies a chubby 5th-grader.

So, are bottlenose dolphins truly evil? No, they're just animals. Despite their advanced intelligence, they are unaware of human morality, and their worldview accommodates cruel bullying, harassment, and endless struggle just as well as caring for their offspring and lifelong friendship. All we can do is avoid provoking them unnecessarily. Don't try to ride them, don't shove handouts into their perpetually smiling mouths, or, especially, into their blowholes.



Just because wild dolphins behave in such atrocious ways doesn't mean a dolphin in an aquarium will bite you or your child. However, you must interact with them only as instructed by an aquarium employee, and follow their commands unquestioningly.

Moreover, none of the atrocities listed above are unique to dolphins. Cats can hunt and abuse their prey even when a full bowl of food awaits them at home. Bears similarly attack the offspring of others for the opportunity to mate. And dozens of animal species are caught consuming alcohol and psychoactive substances.



Played with a mouse – lost.

And you know what's most unpleasant? All these vices are also inherent in humans, and they occur even in the most developed and civilized societies. After all, we are also part beast, and our animal nature often prevails over the morals and customs of civilization. And, therefore, we have no right to blame the dolphins.